I posted a question and shared work on here a while ago, and following the advice and feedback started editing. It got much better, even I could tell, and a lot changed in it. Then I hit a block. I struggled and persevered, but there sometimes comes a point when you really have to say 'enough is enough', and I made the decision to scrap it. There were simply too many complications and bad bits, but at least I could (in theory) use the basic idea in another story. Anyway, this is the first time I've done this, and I found it both sad and liberating.
I think I do still have it saved somewhere on my computer. . . in a deep dark forgotten folder within a folder, tucked away in a corner! I also hope to use the rough idea in another story at some far off random date when I'm not in the middle of three other writing projects!!!
Someone once told me when I deleted some work that one should never delete, put it somewhere, because after maybe years, what you have put away fits in with a new idea. I am "told". Not taking the blame if it's wrong!!! And as Lorraine has said it isn't easy to discard something we once believed in.
Just a thought, only just I know... Paul G
The thing about writing is that, if we learn from our mistakes, not one word is wasted, Christine. It's all part of the learning curve. It is incredibly hard to say goodbye to a piece of work in which you have invested so much time, effort, and emotion - and a large chunk of yourself. We writers have to be really hard on ourselves - because in rejecting a piece of work, we're saying loud and clear that we got it wrong. That's hard in any sphere of life, but harder still when it's saying that something we have created is not up to the mark.
Think of it this way: every word is a building block. Some blocks are perfectly shaped and make for a straight and solid wall. Others crumble or crack, or are out of true, and, while we may not notice at first, their effect on the next layer soon becomes apparent, and we have to go back and take them out. What we put back, with the extra care given, makes the whole wall so much better.
Yes, it's tempting to just carry on regardless, but the customer who is paying for that wall is going to complain when it falls down, and certainly won't employ us again.
What's more, we'll know to check each block and each line of blocks as we go along.
Happy building!
Lorraine